Call Goes Out Again for ‘Super Scooper’ : Firefighting: Hillside homeowners and a legislator renew efforts to acquire Canadian plane designed to fight wildfires.

As sure as autumn wildfires follow Santa Ana winds into Southern California, the fires themselves are followed by the cry: “Send in the Super Scooper!”

For more than two decades, nervous homeowners living on hillsides and in canyons around Los Angeles have clamored for fire officials to add a Canadian tanker plane that scoops water from the ocean to the arsenal of equipment used to battle wildfires.

The Canadair CL-415 can swoop in and load 1,600 gallons of seawater in 12 seconds then roar off on a ridge-hopping, canyon-diving attack on brush fires. If a lake is closer than the ocean, it can scoop water there.

The plane can mix fire retardant with the water. It holds more than helicopters and is more maneuverable than larger military-type tanker aircraft. And it can scoop and drop water for four hours without landing--unlike helicopters and tankers that have to land after every drop to take on more water.

But the Super Scooper is expensive: a new turbo-prop version costs $16.5 million.

It’s also controversial.

In the past, fire officials have largely dismissed the plane for reasons ranging from its single-use design to the damaging effects of dropping ocean water on vegetation.

Efforts to acquire the plane for use in California in the early 1970s and again in 1980 fizzled. Last fall, a bill calling for the state to lease several Super Scoopers for a two-year test was vetoed by Gov. Pete Wilson.

On Friday, homeowners and a state assemblyman pledged to try again to win permission to spend $1.5 million to evaluate the plane’s usefulness in fighting urban-area wildfires.

“Having the Super Scooper in the firefighting arsenal this week could have been of enormous significance,” said Assemblyman Terry Friedman (D-Brentwood), who authored last year’s ill-fated legislation. “Especially for those living along the coast--Laguna Beach in particular.”

In vetoing the Super Scooper test, Wilson cited a move by the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to reduce the use of air tankers and increase reliance on helicopters in fighting wildfires. He noted that the cost of the Super Scooper probably made its use prohibitive.

The Super Scooper has been tested twice in California. Montreal-based Canadair, which has produced 200 of the planes over the last 25 years, loaned one of its planes to Los Angeles County in 1970 and two to the city of Los Angeles in 1979.

State officials refused to allow the Super Scooper to work with its forces during a major 1970 Malibu brush fire, charging that it lacked radio equipment to communicate with its own aircraft. The Canadian plane ended up dumping water instead on isolated areas of the fire.

The 1979 test was more spectacular. The very day the first Super Scooper arrived in Los Angeles, it was pressed into service helping quell a major fire in Laurel Canyon by dropping water on blazing brush and burning homes.

At the time, a smaller version of the Super Scooper was selling for $3 million. But city fire officials said later that the plane was of limited use to the city and said they would rather buy helicopters costing $1.5 million.

The plane’s backers said Friday that this week’s fires show that the time has come to put the plane to work in the state. And Ray Mathieu, a Canadair executive in Montreal, said his company is still “willing to work with the people of California,” possibly by leasing planes.

“The obstacles can be overcome,” said Alan Kishbaugh, president of Los Angeles’ Federation of Hillside and Canyon Assn., which represents 55 homeowner groups between Mt. Washington and Westlake Village. Kishbaugh, an environmentalist who lives in Laurel Canyon, said he witnessed the yellow and red Super Scooper at work during the 1979 fire in his canyon.

“Obviously, in a fire you’re going to have problems. Saltwater is not good for vegetation. But I’m sure the people down in Laguna Beach wouldn’t have cared if you dropped seawater on their homes.”

Los Angeles County Fire Department officials were not available for comment on the issue. But a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Fire Department reacted positively to the idea of the state using the scooping tanker.

“Any water on a fire is great from our standpoint,” Brian Humphrey said. “It’s a real touchy political thing. But we welcome any new tool.”

Gov. Wilson, touring the fire zone near Malibu, was asked if California officials would have an interest in the Super Scooper.

“That’s a little bit like asking a platoon leader if he would like the atom bomb,” he replied.

Times staff writers who contributed to the fire coverage: Fred Alvarez, Dwayne Bray, Sara Catania, Rich Connell, Ashley Dunn, Paul Feldman, David J. Fox, Ralph Frammolino, Nieson Himmell, Daryl Kelley, Maria LaGanga, Peggy Y. Lee, Carlos V. Lozano, Penelope McMillan, Jeff Meyers, Joanna Miller, Mack Reed, Lee Romney, Stephanie Simon, Constance Sommer and Vicki Torres. Also contributing were correspondents Maia Davis, Brenda Day, Julie Fields, James Maiella Jr., Matthew Mosk and Richard Winton.

Aerial Assault

Fighting wildfires from the air with fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is a joint effort between county fire departments and state and federal forest services. Water and fire retardant/suppressant is dropped from the aircraft in an effort to contain the fires. Here’s a look at the combatants in the Thousand Oaks firefight:

C130 fixed-wing aircraft, two flying out of Fox Field in Lancaster, six out of Point Mugu.

Fire retardant is dispersed from pressurized tanks in five to 11 seconds every 20 minutes.

Boeing 234 (CH47) Chinook helicopter, flying out of Van Nuys Airport.

3,000 gallons of water, scooped from the ocean, are dropped hundreds of feet above fire every two minutes.

Bucket is suspended from 3/4” steel cables 150 feet long.

Bucket can be filled in 90 seconds.

Other aircraft, More than two dozen additional planes and helicopters are used to make water and fire-retardant drops. A spotter plane serves as air traffic controller, communicating by radio.

Battling Fire With Chemicals

In addition to water, two types of substances are being dropped on the fire. One is a foamy suppressant, the other a gummy retardant. Both go by the brand name Phos Check. The main ingredient in both is fertilizer, which also aids in the growth of post-fire vegetation.

Suppressant:

A concentrated soapy substance is dispersed from the aircraft as a frothy foam.

Facilitates use of water by hand and engine companies because it prevents water from rolling off vegetation.

Retardant:

Powder, consisting of reddish coloring agent and thickening substance, is mixed with water on the ground and pumped into aircraft tanks.

When dropped, red color marks the ground so next pilot can “pick up the tail,” or location, of the previous drop.

Gummy substance helps retardant stick to foliage, reducing the effect of drift caused by winds.

Sources: Boeing, Columbia Helicopters, Monsanto Co., California Air National Guard, various fire departments and forest service agencies; Researched by JULIE SHEER / Los Angeles Times

Southland Fire Toll

The wildfires that cut across six Southern California counties were largely under control by Friday evening. As of 9 p.m., authorities reported the following figures:

* FIRES: 14 total. One in the San Gabriel foothills above Altadena and Sierra Madre was 35% contained as of 3 p.m. Six others also were partly contained, including one that swept from Thousand Oaks to Malibu, which was 75% contained. Seven are fully contained or nearing containment, including the most devastating one that hit Laguna Beach.

* ACRES BURNED: More than 152,000 acres in six Southern California counties.

* DAMAGE: At least 537 homes damaged or destroyed.

* INJURIES: 67 firefighters, including two seriously burned, and 17 residents.

* EVACUATIONS: More than 26,500, mostly from Laguna Beach.